Perhaps this year we have more need to remember the Greek summer as it was recorded by Greek photographers over the decades of the previous century.

…

Voula Papaioannou (1898-1990)

Voula Papaioannou was introduced to the art of photography in the mid-1930s, practicing at first with success in shooting landscapes, monuments and archaeological exhibits.

Voula Papaioannou was introduced to the art of photography in the mid-1930s, practicing at first with success in shooting landscapes, monuments and archaeological exhibits.

A turning point in the course of her work was the declaration of war in the 1940s and especially the sufferings of the civilian population of Athens, during the period of the German occupation, which activated the social consciousness of the photographer. He witnessed the farewell of the soldiers, the preparations of the city to deal with emergencies and the care of the first wounded. When famine struck the capital, he denounced the horrors of war with the shocking figures of dismembered children.

After the Liberation, as the head of the photographic department of UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration), she toured the ravaged Greek countryside and recorded the difficult survival conditions of its inhabitants. Often escaping the orders of her service, she immortalized personal stories and physiognomy of ordinary people that suggest dignity rather than poverty.

In the 1950s her work expresses the optimism that prevailed after the war for the future of humanity and especially the tendency towards the return of traditional values. Beyond any previous romantic approach, he again captured the Greek landscape with the signs of its history and the inhabitants of the countryside.

Voula Papaioannou joins the current of "humanitarian photography" which was developed as an antidote to the destruction of human values due to the war. The struggle of her compatriots for survival, as captured by her lens with respect, clear vision and discreet participation, acquires universality and reflects faith in the power of the common man and the value of life.

…

Nikolaos Tombazis (1894-1986)

Nikolaos Tombazis was born in the Greek embassy in Petroupoli in 1894. His father, however, registered him as a citizen on the family's ancestral island, Hydra. Nature and especially the mountains attracted his attention from a young age.

At the age of eighteen, he was hired as a commercial agent for the Ralli Brothers company in the Indies. For the next 30 years he devoted himself to photography, alongside mountain climbing, fishing and breeding purebred dogs. He knew most of the mountain peaks of the Himalayas, but also of the Swiss Alps, where he spent his holidays and which he systematically photographed. In 1925 he organized a mountaineering expedition to Mount Sikkim in the Himalayas, the fruit of which was the publication "Account of a Photographic Expedition to the Southern Glaciers of Kangchenjunga in the Sikkim Himalaya". He became a member of the Royal Photographic Society in London and treasurer of the Photographic Society in Calcutta. During his stay in India, he organized two photographic exhibitions in Calcutta and one in Karachi. The birth of his children offered him another favorite and tender subject for his camera.

In 1945 he retired from the company of the Ralli Brothers and returned to Greece, where he now engaged professionally in photography. Since 1950 he has mainly been involved in archaeological photography. In collaboration with the Archaeological Society, he photographed the excavations of the archaeologists Takis Theoharis in Askitario of Rafina and Ioannis Papadimitriou in Vravrona and Merenda.

The detailed recording of the excavation process and the recording of the findings will establish him as one of the best photographers of the genre. At the same time, he captured landscapes and people of the Greek countryside, bequeathing to the younger generations a valuable historical document about the physiognomy of the place and daily life. His love for the Greek landscape and monuments – ancient and Byzantine – secured him a permanent collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, which had a copy of his archive in his possession. His photographs were published in tourist publications and guides of the 50s or illustrated archaeological publications.

Remarkable, both for its artistic perfection and its documentary value, is the series of photographs of Mount Athos, which he visited in 1962. Topazis systematically captured the architecture of the monasteries, the treasures of works of art and the daily life of the monks of the Athonian state. Part of the photographs of Mount Athos were exhibited in 1962 at the British Council under the title "Nikolaou Topazis, Photographic Exhibition of Mount Athos".

The archive, which totals around 30,000 negatives and a large number of original exhibition prints, is neatly arranged in handmade albums and stylish boxes and reflects the taste and artistic temperament of the cosmopolitan and – why not – aristocratic photographer.

Nikolaos Tombazis was honored with the distinction of being a member of the Fédération de l'Art Photographique of Switzerland. In 1997 his archive was donated by his descendants to the Photographic Archive of the Benaki Museum.

…

Dimitris Harisiadis (1911-1993)

Son of an urban family from Kavala. He studied Chemistry in Lausanne, while photography attracted his interest from an early age. The starting point of his photographic journey was the Albanian front (1940), when Harisiadis, as a reserve officer and official photographer of the army, captured the life of the soldiers and the advance of the Greek army in Northern Epirus.

Transferred to Athens due to his language skills, he recorded the difficult living conditions during the Occupation.

As a European press correspondent, he photographed the "December" and the Civil War. After Liberation and on behalf of foreign aid missions, he photographically documented the arrival and distribution of American aid to the country. Later, by order of the Ministry of Reconstruction, he recorded the economic recovery of the country and the major projects.

He was one of the pioneers in the establishment of the Hellenic Photographic Society in 1952. From 1956 to 1985 he ran the well-known photo agency "D.A. Harisiadis" with his partner Dionysis Tamaresi. As part of his professional duties he recorded the industrialization of the country, the development of shipping and the spread of modern architecture. As a photographer for the National Theater, he also dabbled in theater photography, providing invaluable material for its history.

Along with professional photography, his personal interest turned to the Greek landscape, the settlements, the daily life of the people in the countryside and the cities, and finally to the man himself, "the most interesting subject that exists in Cosmos".

His contact with foreign photography agencies and his awareness of the international photographic movement can be attributed to the photographic influences of American, mainly, origin that can be seen in his work.

The international recognition of the artistic value of his work came early. He was the only Greek to participate in the great exhibition "The Family of Man" in New York in 1955. He also took part in the exhibitions: "Greece seen by eleven Greek photographers" in Chicago in 1957, "The Pace of the European" in Munich in 1959 and many others. Balanced, often abstract composition, flawless technique, humor and optimism characterize the writing of Charisiadis, who combined foreign influences with Greek aesthetics in a purely personal style.

…

Ioannis Lambros (1915-1988)

Ioannis D. Lambros (1915-1988) began his photographic experiments in the interwar years. In the field of photography, he has remained well known for his active participation in the operation and events of the Hellenic Photographic Society (H.F.E.).

He was one of the founding members of the association and his involvement in its various activities was multifaceted and important. He worked closely with the editors of the E.F.E.'s quarterly magazine, Hellenic Photography, published in 1954, publishing his photographs and articles on photographic technique. Between 1968-1975 he held the position of President of E.F.E. gathering his organizational and artistic powers for the development and dissemination of amateur artistic photography, both in Greece and abroad.

From 1961 to 1968 he collaborated with the National Tourism Organization (NTO). His photos were used to illustrate the organization's posters, thus contributing to shaping the post-war image of our country.

He worked in the Hellenic State Railways (SEK) from 1942 to 1979, leaving with the highest rank of OSE Commander. As part of his duties, he had the opportunity to travel to the countryside and illustrate the evolution of Greek railways. Over time, these photos turned into documents of the – unknown to many – railway life of our country. His restless photographic lens, at the same time, recorded the beauty of the Greek landscape, gently and nostalgically transporting the viewer to a Greece that no longer exists.

The photographic highlights of people focus almost exclusively on his immediate family and friends. The daughters of Ioannis Lambros, fellow travelers and valuable helpers, play a leading role. However, there are also photographic portraits of famous Athenians, such as the sculptor Thanasis Aparti, the choreographer Maria Hors and the politician Tzannis Tzannetakis.  

The photographic work of Ioannis Lambros was kindly given to the Department of Photographic Archives of the Benaki Museum in 2002 by his daughters Sonia Lambros and Fani Vafiadakis.

…

Zacharias Stella

Zacharias Stellas took up photography focusing especially on his place of origin, Paros, but also on other Aegean islands. The work on Paros was published in five editions, which were not released commercially but were donated to libraries, institutions and people.

He was one of the first members of the Hellenic Photographic Society (EFE), he wrote articles in magazines about photography and his photos have been published in various magazines.

He was honored with the titles AFIAP and EFIAP by the International Federation of Photographic Art (1965 and 1971 respectively), while in 2008 the Benaki Museum chose to frame its calendar with photographs by Zacharias Stella. In 2005 he donated his entire photographic work to the Benaki Museum.

*Cover photo: Zacharias Stellas

Source: benaki